Prof says global warming is dangerous to your freedom

Nobody's going to like this one. Liberals will feel attacked. Libertarians will nod glumly. Conservatives will feel they're being blamed for something that hasn't happened. And those who intend to ignore climate change will continue to accuse others of a conspiracy.
Peter Wells, a researcher in Cardiff, England, has published an article warning that climate change could lead to a global, militaristic totalitarian state. Here's where you can find the article, but it will cost money to see it all. So, a brief summary: Climate change will create severe challenges to numerous nations. It may prove impossible to get enough agreement among conflicting interests and countries to cope with the effects. Eventually, this may lead to more centralized, international government. That, the professor argues, is an open invitation to the military-environmental elite to gradually expand control.
Wells goes on to say, "A modern green junta is unlikely to arrive with tanks on the streets and the overnight capturing of control. Rather, it creeps upon us through multiple small steps--each one justified by 'necessity'." And Wells questions whether the slow-moving methods of democracy can cope with a global catastrophe.
Here's what his Web site says about the author: "Peter Wells has a degree in Geography from Leeds University, and an MSc in Town Planning from Cardiff University, while his PhD (also from Cardiff University) was on the subject of the socio-economic consequences of military R&D in the U.K. He joined the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at its inception in 1990 and has since specialised on economic, strategic and environmental aspects of the world automotive industry. He is particularly interested in small scale, decentralised economic organisation as a means to achieve sustainable consumption and production."

Google gloats over solar success

Google has produced enough electricity from its headquarters in the last four days to watch about 251,073 hours of television on a flat screen.
The news comes from Google's site dedicated to letting folks know exactly how many kilowatt-hours its solar project is paying out.

The search giant has covered the roofs of eight buildings and two carports at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters with solar panels in an effort to build the largest solar panel installation of any corporate campus in the U.S.
On Monday, the system was turned on and Google has been monitoring its success rate. The average seems to be about 10,000 kilowatt-hours per day, according to Google's solar graph.
That equals 8,347 coffee makers running for an hour, 6,257 dishwasher runs, 3,642 loads of laundry washed and dried, or 41,737 alarm clocks running for 24 hours, going by U.S. Department of Energy standards.
Google said it's producing enough electricity for each solar paneled building to cover about 30 percent of its demands.

Dell to sell Linux PCs

The world’s second-largest computer firm, Dell, will start selling desktop and laptop PCs with the Linux operating system pre-installed.
The US-based company made the announcement on Thursday morning.
Dell said it has decided to offer Linux on its computers in response to consumer demand.
A recent survey carried out by Dell revealed that 70 per cent of those questioned said they would use Linux.
“Dell has heard you and we will expand our Linux support beyond our existing servers and Precision workstation line,” the firm said in a statement.
“Our first step in this effort is offering Linux pre-installed on select desktop and notebook systems.
“We will provide an update in the coming weeks that includes detailed information on which systems we will offer, our testing and certification efforts, and the Linux distribution(s) that will be available.
“The countdown begins today.”
Currently the firm only sells desktop and laptop PCs running Microsoft Windows.
Linux, which runs on about 5 per cent of the world’s PCs, is a free open-source operating system based on Unix.
This means that its underlying source code is available for anyone to use, modify, and redistribute freely.
Linux is predominantly known for its use in servers.

Smart Gun with Dynamic Grip Recognition System

Possessing a pistol is a big tension as the weapon can be harmful for you and others if it falls in wrong hands. Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have designed a gun to solve the problem. They have designed the first commercially viable “smart gun” last month. This gun comes with a dynamic grip recognition system. The gun has a biometric technology embedded in its handle with sensors and microprocessors that analyze the complex interplay of bones and muscles involved in pulling the trigger, all in a fraction of a second. This system locks the mechanism of gun if seized by an unauthorized hand.

Until now, the chances of failure of the system are 1 in 100 but the research team is working hard to reduce the rate to1 in 1000 to by increasing no of sensors from 32 to several hundreds and refining the pattern-recognition software to meet up the Pentagon’s standard for military weapons.

Registration process

The user will test-fire the weapon 10 times at a local police station’s firing range and during the process, the microprocessors will analyze the data and create a permanent profile of the user’s grip.

The development of such type of gun will considerably reduce the number of accidents and chances of misuse.

Via: popsci

Boeing Reveals New CH-47F Chinook Helicopter

The Boeing Company has just unveiled its new CH-47F prototype to the U.S. Army. The prototype is the first of the massive fleet of 452 CH-47F Chinook helicopters.

The 21st century aircraft is designed for the future with a restructured airframe made of single-piece machined components for extra strength and a Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System advanced digital cockpit, fully equipped with digital map display and mission data transfer system.

Two 4,868-horsepower Honeywell engines power the CH-47F, making it reach whopping speeds greater than 175 mph and transport payloads weighing more than 21,000 lbs. The CH-47F, with the Robertson Aviation Extended Range Fuel System, has a mission radius greater than 400 miles.

Check out more images here.

Image: Gizmag, Boeing

Via: sflorg

The Top Ten Futuristic Weapons

Here is the list of the top ten futuristic weapons that can disable any force of the world.

• Autonomous Weapons

These are the robotic weapons that are currently in the development phase. They work on a find and destroy criteria. These Automatic Robotic vehicles can strike in air or on the ground without causing any damage to the friendly troops. These are equipped with sensors that can sense between enemy and the friendly troops and ask for a conformation from the ground forces to begin an attack. The limitation of this type of robotic vehicles is that it would be difficult to distinguish between animals, civilians friendly forces and enemy forces. And if anything goes wrong then the weapons could start wild firing injuring many innocent.

• High Energy Lasers

High Energy lasers travel at the speed of light and can destroy an approaching missile in minutes and can also strike targets over thousands of kilometers. The Lasers use large mirror to focus on the weak spots of the missiles that usually is the fuel compartment. This high energy laser then heats up the missile which destroys it in mid air and hundreds of kilometers from the target. The only limitation of the weapon is that it is very bulky and cannot be used in all environments.

• Space-Based Weapons

Nothing is above space. A weapon in orbit will be able to see and destroy anything on the planet. The main mission of these weapons will to seek and destroy any approaching ballistic missile in mid air. The reaction time of the weapon should be very fast so that it can even hit a supersonic craft before it reaches its target.

• Hypersonic Aircrafts (Scram Jet)

These are the aircrafts that can fly at a speed of Mach 5 that means five times the speed of sound. These aircrafts can reach any target on the planet within two hours. The aircrafts initially have to take a ride on the back of some other planes, which can carry it to an altitude where the air density is less. Then the aircraft shifts to the scramjet engine that uses the mixture of air and fuel to power the aircraft to supersonic speed. The limitation for the aircraft is that the scramjet engine cannot start until the plane is flies faster than the speed of sound and moreover the plane has not yet undergone a human testing.

• Active Denial System (Millimeter-Wave Weapon)

The active denial systems have been designed to make people flee without injuring them. A 2-meter long antenna and a generator produces and aims a 95 GHz wave on a group of people which causes them intense pain in the skin making them to flee. The problem with the system is that it can cause serious burns to the people who will not be able to run quickly as the wave can burn the skin in minutes.

• Nuclear Missiles

Nuclear Missiles are the most destructive weapons that have been made by man. They are capable of destroying a whole nation at the first strike and the after effects are also devastating. The nuclear missiles are based on a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead that explodes. The missiles have not been used by any nation as yet. The launch site and the trajectory of the missile is easy to identify so it can easily be destroyed in flight.

• Stun Guns (Tasers)

Tasers use high voltage electricity to subdue people without any permanent injury. These are targeted on the bodies or on the legs of people and they disrupt the normal functioning of the voluntary muscles of humans making them to fall on the ground. The practical limitations of the Stun Guns are many as they can cause injury when a person falls on the ground, and many deaths have already been reported.

• High-Power Microwave Bombs (e-bombs)

These are known as e-bombs because they can totally damage computers, electronics and electric power. The technology uses high power microwave pulses that can burn the electrical equipment and particularly the semiconductor chips. The limitation is that they also damage the friendly equipment within range.

• Layered Missile Defense

This technology offers the best chance to shoot a missile before it reaches its target. Multiple systems are targeted on to the missile during different stages of its flight. The first is the boost phase during which the rockets are firing. During this stage the missile is easy to detect and easy to shoot down. The second stage is the mid stage of the missiles flight while the war head is in space. The last phase is when the warhead is approaching the target. The limitation is that the system is difficult to make and maintain and also it requires very fast response time.

• Information Warfare

The technology interferes with the flow of information in the enemy channels totally disrupting it. Specially trained computer hackers are used to break into the military computers and steal the information and also destroy it by spreading some viruses. The limitation is that till now only the U.S is relying on the computers so other low-tech enemies are not so vulnerable against the weapon.

Via: newscientist

MOP: 30,000lb Precision-guided Bunker Penetrator

The new Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) is the most powerful conventional penetrating weapon ever designed. Developed by Boeing, it is designed specifically to attack hardened concrete bunkers and tunnel facilities.

MOP is a part of a technology demonstration program funded by DTRA. The aim of the program is to develop a 30,000-pound conventional penetrating weapon especially designed to penetrate hard and deeply buried targets.

MOP is 20-feet-long which will be carried aboard B-2 and B-52 bombers and deployed at high altitudes. MOP is equipped with innovative design features including a GPS navigation system and packs more than 5,300 pounds of explosives.

MOP has been tested successfully for a static tunnel lethality test March 14 at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) weapons tunnel complex at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

Bob McClurg, Boeing Advanced Systems MOP program manager, speaks about the significance of MOP:

The weapon’s effectiveness against hard and deeply buried targets allows the warfighter to hold adversaries’ most highly valued military facilities at risk, especially those protecting weapons of mass destruction.

Far-infrared Light Could Enable Concealed Weapons Detection

University of Utah researchers have found that the far-infrared light could enable quicker wireless communications and can be employed to effectively enhance concealed weapons detection.

The terahertz radiations could be used to detect chemical or biological weapons (such as anthrax), concealed weapons and plastic explosives.

Ajay Nahata, an associate professor at the University of Utah said that the homeland security applications of terahertz technology comprise the use of “emitters and detectors of terahertz radiation to detect materials that resonate at a terahertz frequency when exposed to far-infrared light.”

Via: Playfuls